THE PRESS - The Complete Press 1984-1994

THE PRESS were arguably the first American Oi! band and this is the first time their collected works, including remastered rarities and unreleased material, have been issued in a digipack release complete with band photos and a pullout lyric-sheet!

The long-awaited vinyl version of The Press discography features a full colour printed inner sleeve and layout not included in the digipack version. 18"x12" limited run Press collage poster ships with all orders while supplies last!

FORMAT: digipack CD / LP

VINYL PRESSING INFO:
250 x beer
250 x black

"Completives like this are gifts from the music gods. Everything you need from old, impossible-to-find 7" and LPs, booted cassettes that would be relegated to the collections of collector scum, cleaned up and released for mass consumption. One band from the sprawling U.S. underground punk scene that could have been overlooked (and was at the time) were the Press, America's purported first oi! band. And they're bloody good, so Insurgence collected all of their comp tracks as well as five previously unreleased songs in one clean package. Top-drawer punk rock. As the usual case with streetpunk, the choruses are meant to be sung together with everyone else in the sweaty venue. Catchy and simple-as-sin in theory, but easy enough to fuck up (as proven by way too many bands). The Press found a perfect mix for their formula. The woah-oh-ohs, the pogotastic rhythm in every song, the sing-along verses of "Shut Your Fuck'n Mouth" and "Shot Heard Around The World" and the other 13 tracks included give you one of the funnest punk albums of the last three years. That from a band that hasn't been around for the last thirteen." (Patrick Michalishyn)

Stylus Magazine, April/May 2008

"Quality release from the Insurgence crew of America's first Oi! band The Press. This 15 track disc epitomises what Oi! is all about and added to that you know the the band are a real working class oufit with sussed politics who took a stance and stood by what they said, and the music ain't half bad either! Good quality sound that seems to draw a lot from the original UK Oi! bands. This digi-pak also comes with a copy of an old flyer with all the lyrics on the back and words about the band from Garry Bushell - all in all a fantastic release that has remastered rarities as well as unreleased gems... a gotta-get as far as I'm concerned. This should be on everyone's 'to listen to' list!"

Oi! Warning, Number 6

"It sounds impressive that The Complete Press would compile a decade of material from what is arguably America's first oi band. However, given the underground nature of the music and ensuing lack of funds, this means a whopping 15 tracks for all of you 4/4 louts out there. Regardless, this beautiful post-mortem does boast a few remastered tunes, unreleased material and, more importantly, proves to recent generations that not all oi bands were mired in grunting about beer and smashing away like robots. Simplistic but inspired, songs such as "ASAP," "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Revolution Now" feature intelligent lyrics, an upbeat drive and modest political leanings that prove this band were as smart as they were influential. Even the limited recording values only serve to establish this collection as gritty, ballsy and surprisingly enduring." (Keith Carman)

Exclaim!

"The Press were a skinhead punk rock band who wore their hearts on their sleeves an' their politics in their lyrics. Songs like 'Revolution Now' an' '21 Guitar Salute' hit like a baseball bat to the groin. Even in a city chock-full of rock and rollers chasing the dream, this band stood out. The Press didn't need a dream. They were awake."

Garry Johnson, Feb.4.08

"Strong tunes, great attitude, spot on. It never ceases to amaze me that a band on the other side of the world would hear our songs, which were pure Canning Town, East London, and get what we were about, but then it just goes to prove what I wrote in 1981 'the kids they come from everywhere, the East End's all around'. I'd recommend anyone interested in the roots of StreetPunk to listen to The Press. They were the first American Oi! band that I am aware of and their songs are strong enough to have sat with pride on any of the early Oi albums."

Jeff 'Stinky' Turner, Cockney Rejects

"This is a 21 guitar salute to The Press, the very first US Oi! band.

Formed in New York in 1984, the Press didn? only duplicate the sound of the first wave of English Oi! bands they absolutely captured the spirit. Your Oi!, like our Oi! was working class protest married to angry rock n roll music. Your songs, like our songs, were about boredom, rebellion, and defiance. Working class kids faced the same problems whether they grew up in Canning Town or Queens. You either had no job or a shit job, the dole, low wages or a bag full of swag.

As Andre Schlesinger wrote in It's Not What I Want: 'Five days a week, I'm working 9-5, it's never enough to pay the bills but it's enough to keep me alive.' The music of the Press was clearly influenced by the British punk and Oi! bands that preceded them; in particular, the Clash, the Gonads, the Upstarts, Cock Sparrer and SLF. Yet they wrote great sing-along rebel anthems of their own, with melody, guts and with plenty to say. Best was Schlesinger's 21 Guitar Salute which is kept alive today by another great US band The Dropkick Murphys. And while by 1984 the scene in England had become depressingly conservative and copycat, the Press were experimenting with ska (Try) and the more Modish drive of ASAP.

Their emblems were English: the Fred Perry logo, the crossed hammers. But they were bright enough to reject the dumb-ass media image of skinheads as racist boneheads and hitched their banner proudly to SHARP. (With its roots in bluebeat, mod and South London, how could skinhead be anything other than non-racist?) The Press? stance was truly international. Andre's stance - even more amazingly - was international socialist: 'Don't wait for tomorrow, revolution now!' he wrote, echoing England's Redskins. And buddy, if you don't like that then you can 'Shut your fucking mouth.' It's Not What I Want started out not as a song but as a picket sign.

Other US Oi! and Oi!-influenced bands were to go on and make a bigger splash, but never forget The Press. They deserve to be recognized. The Press were the first; they got it, they took it, they made it their own. The kids were all right."

Garry Bushell, Godfather of Oi!

"Finally! A collection of The Press' recorded works: the re-issue of the Skins n' Punks Vol. 5 material, the Institute of Audio Research Sessions, Just Another Warning - from the NY Beat compilation, Friday 5PM - from Oi-Skampilation, as well as other previously unreleased gems. The new mixes are rich, powerful, and hard-hitting, without being over-produced. It was especially good to see Carry On Harry released on a disc, as it's a personal favorite. The Press was an important band, and I'm honored to have been a part of it. Thanks to Insurgence Records and Garry Bushell."